Cheaper version of the Vespa LX150

Even though I’ve already passed my driving licence and am starting to appreciate cars a lot, I’m still more of a two wheeler person. Owning a scooter or a motorcycle just makes more sense – it’s easier to find parking especially in a traffic congested place like Rome, the petrol intake is so much lower, and not to mention the cheaper upkeep costs.

Currently, I own a Kymco People 125. At first I didn’t like him so much. But he does have some advantages, such as its small size. It’s easy to manoeuvre it in between heavy traffic and I’ve appreciated him a lot for that. Problem is, he’s just not adequate enough for me to ride on the highway as European highways legally require for a two wheeler to be at least 150cc.

Since I’ve always loved riding my Vespa GT200 while I was in Singapore, I was seriously considering to upgrade to a Vespa LX 150 . Not another GT as I was used to, as I prefer it to be small enough to fly in the traffic. Moreover, it’s cheaper.

I was all set to head to the showroom when I stumbled upon a website where it compared the LX 150 with another scooter, the Kymco Like 200i and at first glance I was stunned to see how similar it looked. Even the font in front and on the sides look about the same!

There are differences though, such as the bag hook below the seat of the LX150 while on the Like200 it’s on under the handlebars. But looks wise aside, the more I read about the comparisons, the more I got interested in purchasing the alternative.

By the way the Like200i is actually 163cc. Strange naming, I know

Firstly on account of how much cheaper it was. If I were to get the LX 150ie, it would cost me 3.6k euro while the Like 200i costs 2.2k, which is a good 1.5k cheaper and it already comes included with a box.

And it looks substantial enough for me to put my stuff and whatnots

Since using my current scooter for the past year and a half, and despite the fact that it is almost approaching 10 years old, incredibly, I’ve yet to have any issues or replace any parts which makes me trust this brand a lot. As much as I loved my Vespa, the upkeep costs were crazy. It didn’t bother me that much at the time as I had a regular job. But now that I’m mostly freelancing and money doesn’t flow regularly, I have to be frugal.

Thus it makes so much sense for me to get the Kymco Like 200i. I still love Vespa. But sometimes you can’t get a certain brand because of its high costs or because of it’s unavailability in your country, so you get a dupe which is just as good, instead.

Cart and I were at a nearest Kymco showroom and despite what a couple of reviews have mentioned, the Like 200i is not a small scooter. I am 1.61 m and when I sat on it, I only managed to tiptoe, very much like how I was on the GT200.

Even though in person, the body looks plasticy, I get the impression that the scooter is very solid and steady on the road. One thing that I didn’t really liked though, was that you needed to open the glove compartment and the underseat separately, as opposed to the GT 200 which opens with a push of a button. But this was a minor inconvenience.

Nevertheless, there were small details which I was pleasantly surprised about, such as the plastic straps on the glove compartment which helps prevent items from spilling out.

And also that the pillion foot rest springs open when you press the button next to it. But I loved it more that it was positioned further away back – something that bothered me a lot when I was on the GT 200 – it hurt my legs a lot as I’d inadvertently scrape my feet on it each time I had a pillion. Bad design!

Nevertheless, the true test will be to ride it on the road of course. But I’m liking the specs that I’ve read so far. I’d like to order it, and hopefully, be riding it ASAP!